Anyone installed CCTV ??

M

MamaC

Registered User
Hi...I'm planning to install a cctv at home ,since I'll be going back to work soon and my helper is very new,but it turns to be very expensive,anyone know any baby monitor has recording system??or anyone has any good recommandations....thx alot.:woman
 
Do you mean CCTV or a web cam where you can have a peek at your baby over the internet when you are at work?
 
You can visit PCCW, there is a webcam which allows you to look at your baby through internet. It's about $200 per month, 24 months contract.

Alternatively you can visit one of the computer shops in Wan Chai computer centre (above the MTR), they sell the IP cameras and install it for you.
 
pccw's easywatch is too gud....u can view the easywatch on internet...and then u watch on ur cell phone also....picture quality is not gud on phone....but on internet its very clear...u can hear all the sounds and can watch ur baby anytime....
 
Dear All, I actually need something i can record while I'm away,does the pccw easywatch has recording system since I have to leave my table a lot for meeting,just in case since the child abuse happens so often this days.Thx a lot.
 
I also use wireless Panasonic Cameras around the house, and whilst i dont use them to record - they can easily be setup to record.

However, you need to look at your motivations for getting these cameras. We got them as both of us are working and we want to see what our bb is up to from time to time to brighten up our day so to speak - not to spy on our helper who looks after our bb. We absolutely trust our helper or we would never even consider leaving her alone with our BB.

If you are unable to trust your helper - I would suggest a camera in the house is not going to solve your problems!
 
i would echo the previous poster. if you dont' trust your helper, then why in the world would you leave your child with her? if i was in your position, i would forget a camera. you are not going to watch the video every single day and if abuse does happen then it will be too late anyway.

again, if you don't trust her, find a new helper whom you do trust.

your child is the most important thing in the world and having a camera is not going to help you feel better.

besides, i believe it is illegal to record without telling the helper that you are recording her.
 
I'm divided on the "spy camera" issue here. I would consider installing one. As far as the legality of this, I'd have to research HK laws more but this city is so full of surveillance that it stands to reason that having a camera on your own property in your home that records things, whether or not your helper knows, probably would be okay. How many of us are recorded without our consent or knowledge when we are on private property in this city. We'd all be shocked if we knew.

My mom has a great thing that she says:

"Locks keep honest people honest."

So, I think it's a good comparison. There are some things in our home (cash, jewelry, equipment) we keep in a small safe. Do we keep them there because we "can't trust our helper"? No. We keep them there because "locks keep honest people honest." We trust that our helper is overall honest and wouldn't steal from us. However, we all realize that human nature is human nature. Maybe she's got personal financial problems that would lead her to steal--or maybe it was a desperate situation. We don't think she's going to steal from us but we still keep our important belongings out of sight and locked up.

Same thing with our child. He is far more valuable than any material possession we own. He is priceless. Do we think our helper is going to behave inappropriately toward him? Overall, we trust that she won't. But, as the original poster said, the helper is new. Trust is earned over time in some cases. So, it doesn't sound completely inappropriate to check up on her performance if you're not around. At least at first.

Anyway, no, having a security camera probably won't give a person 100% peace but they can come in handy, I think.

Having said this, we have not yet installed a security camera. We'll see how we deal with this question when our new helper arrives.
 
Oh, but if you simply just want to see your baby during the day, why not teach your helper how to use Skype (if you have a home computer with a webcam) and then you could call her on Skype and ask her to logon or just keep the program open all day long and the sound on so you can ring your helper (through Skype) on the internet, they pick up the other end and you can check out your baby during the day. That would be the cheapest and least troublesome method, I think. (If you have internet connectivity on your phone, you can also use Skype with our phone).
 
Can anyone give more information on these Panasonic IP cameras? How do they work and where in the Wanchai Computer Store can I find them? I would normally go with PCCW except we got in a huge fight with them on terminating service when we moved so I'm boycotting...
 
Talking about trusting a helper.. I trusted my new helper . She was so humble and she is really good in her work superficially. Anyway when I took her fr the agent I told her that I have camera eveywhere in the house as both hubby n me are working. I had to let her go because of communication and all my friends sing praises if her n asked me to gave her a chance etc.. Anyway I got another gf of mine to take over her. On the day of her departure I checked her luggage guessed what she stole 10 items from me.. 4 jeans, 3 top, one belt n 2 bags. Oops plus a small bottle of mineral bottle full of washing detergent. See even when I told her I had camera n had trusted her.. This is how she behaves... Anyway I have decided to instal 3 camera now in the house. One for baby room, living room n finally master bedroom. I saw this ad $1700 including installation n u can even see everything clearly at night. U can call them at 25551830 homesee ip is the brand
 
Ok, your story totally scared me! Anyway, thanks so much for the info; I just went back to work and we had not installed the cameras yet, so I'll be calling the number you gave me first thing tomorrow. Hope your new helper works out, too! My parents live abroad but if the service allows, it's be great for them to watch the baby during the day as well.

(Btw, when I went back to work I gave up on boycotting PCCW and tried calling them to install Easy Watch, which is their camera system, no fewer than 5 times, and emailed them 2 times. They never responded. I really don't understand how they do business!)
 
the camera is only a machine. Remember that the camera has blind spots. If your helper wants to avoid the camera, she simply needs to do bad things beyond the viewing range of the camera. If you trust the camera and not the human, then you will never trust your maid. If you cannot trust your maid with your baby, like the other posters say, you should find someone you trust, or maybe even forget about having a helper since you start from a position of mistrust. Many people ask me why I don't instal a camera to spy on my maid, and I say, if my maid is hurting my baby, I am positive that my baby will cry and refuse to stay with the maid! Be a good employer, but do not be too lenient, the same as you are an employee in your day job. Not everyone will agree with me, but this is my two cents worth.
 
The camera is only a machine. It has blind spots, so if your maid wants to hurt your child, she only has to do bad things beyond the range of the camera. If you trust the machine, and not the human/s, you should not bother having a maid since you will always doubt everything your maid says and does. When people ask me why I don't use a camera, my reply is that if my maid is hurting my baby, my baby will cry and refuse to go to the maid. If you want to have a maid, use some basic HR techniques: be very selective about whom you hire, be a reasonable/fair employer, but at the same time do not be too lenient. The same as you as an employee in your day job would hope for. The difference is that the maid is looking after your precious child and living in your home, so there are additional personal dimensions to the whole arrangement.
 
definitely agree with lisa88 that even with an infant, they will find ways to let you know if they don't like the person who is caring for them when you are at work! We actually want to install the camera so that we can see our baby when we are at work. We aren't hiding the cameras from the helper - if anything we're all in on it together, as my helper says she will call me if the baby is doing something for the first time so I can watch on camera. It's obviously somewhat depressing to have to watch it on camera rather than be there, but with the long working hours in HK, it's possible that most nights we get home she'll already be in bed! Also, with the IP camera, our parents, who live in the US, can see the baby when they want to. I tried using Skype just yesterday for the first time, and when they saw our baby roll over (something I told them happened, but couldn't show them), they were probably more excited than I was. :)
 
I don't mean to scare anyone, but please consider that if you decide to use an IP-camera (i.e. one which streams live footage over the internet) you MUST ensure that the system is secure and properly protected otherwise any person anywhere in the world could potentially log into your system and watch everything that is going on in your own home . I don't know how it's done because I'm not good with technology myself, but I know from others that it's easily done and IS done. Apparently all you need is a search engine; you don't even need to know how to hack computers.
 
i've one in my grandmother home. we needed three things
1-internet
2- wireless router
3-bluetooth cameras from wanchai-fixed angle from $700, adjustable angle from $1200

tada! that's it. from now on i know what my helper is doing to my granny.
 
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